This week in the GAP

Happy Halloween Readers!! Or maybe happy post-Halloween! (We don’t usually update the blog on the days I finish writing them…) Aidan here, with another update on what’s going on with the Global Autism Project! This is the twenty-fifth blog post I have written while working here- a cause for cheer and celebration! Work here has been a bit on the slow side recently because one of our members- Cassie Harden- got married recently! Many of the higher-ups were invited, so the office was pretty much vacant. That’s the beauty of a small office- everyone knows each other! We’re wishing her all the best with her marriage and we hope you will too!

Today’s subject is- of course- Halloween. Here at the office we aren’t doing anything special for the holiday though we might pick up some candy afterwards while it’s on sale (…and if they don’t I will!). I figure a lot of autistic kids might be unnerved by Halloween. Not for the costumes and spooky stuff, but for something even more terrifying- talking to strangers! The first few Halloweens I remember were very unnerving for me. When I was little, I was terrified of the Easter Bunny, so going around talking to people in costume was pretty terrifying. Also, I don’t like the taste of chocolate, so roughly half of my candy was lost to parent and sibling based tariffs. That said, over the years the allure of candy overtook my fear of strangers. Eventually, I came to like the holiday, and while I may not be doing anything this year, I can still appreciate everything that goes into making the neighborhood look like a spook-house.

Besides a marriage in our staff and the general excitement of Halloween, this is also an important time for us as we’re about to ship out a batch of our SkillCorps volunteers to their assigned locations overseas. We have more partner sites than ever before, so this is a very exciting time for us.

That’s all for now. Wish us all luck, don’t litter the streets with candy wrappers (seriously, trick or treating hasn’t even started yet and the ground is already covered.) and have a happy Halloween!